I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately. Being on the DL has given me the time to do that, which is not what I want to be doing. I’d rather be running and for me that is a huge statement.

Something positive that has come out of all the shows I’ve seen lately is one on the Food Network called Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of food. The show is basically a spin off of his other show Jamie’s School Dinners where he attempts to over haul a school’s cafeteria lunch program in Rotherham, England.

This time Jamie is attempting to change the eating habits of the entire town of Rotherham. The idea is fairly simple. Jamie will teach some “students” which are made up of regular people from the town and show them how to cook for themselves. He shows them the proper way to prepare great tasting food that everyone will want to eat, as well as giving them recipes.

The key to the success of the program is something called pass it on. Where once you have learned the recipe you share it with someone and show them how to make it. They could be your family, friend, co-workers etc.. it doesn’t matter who just pass the recipe and joy of cooking on so that everyone can eventually cook for themselves.

Making the Recipes

I have watched a lot of cooking shows before on the food network and made ZERO recipes, that is pretty sad. But there is something about Jamie’s honesty and passion for cooking that made me want to make his PARMESAN CHICKEN BREASTS WITH CRISPY POSH HAM recipe tonight.

My wife had picked up the ingredients this afternoon while shopping and we made it together for dinner.

The Verdict

Fantastic!! I honestly mean that, the chicken tasted so good and went perfectly with the salad and Asparagus as sides. Now the chicken wasn’t the healthiest with the bacon and parmesan but 10 times better than the pizza I would have most likely ordered coming home from a very busy day at work (seriously you don’t even know).

I’m actually excited about trying the Mini Shell Pasta recipe next. My kids loved it too. My 4 year that hates chicken, I mean hates it and never eats her chicken was stealing it off of my plate. That says it all.

Pass It On

Jamie’s idea of pass it on is great, I’m going to be showing my sister how to make the Chicken dish that I just made as well as a few friends.

You can get both the Chicken and Mini shell recipes plus a ton of other great recipes for free on itunes and on Jamie’s Ministry of Food recipe page.

Once you’ve enjoyed them please remember to pass it on!

Who needs money? Well if you could use an extra $250 then I suggest that you head over to John’s weight loss blog at Johnisfit.com. He is having a blog contest for the month of June with the top prize being $250 cash plus other great prizes. Entering is easy, go to John’s weight loss contest for all the details.

Follow Me on Twitter

Twitter has been exploding recently and everyone is using it including myself. I mainly use it as a tool for social interaction to ask questions and to find interesting new sites and stories. Most of my tweets are about what I am doing in my daily life as well as my latest posts on weight loss weapons and some of the other sites I run.

I go under the name @steve_wlw and I invite you to follow me. If you are interested in deals and saving money I am just starting to tweet about these exclusively under @debtslaying you can follow that as well.

I look forward to chatting with you

This seems to happen to me any time I start getting on a roll. 2 weeks ago I had lost 6 pounds through lots of hard work and planning. I felt great and thought that I’m really starting to make a difference in my weight loss efforts.

That all changed on May 12th when I decided to play in a pick up basketball game after work with some friends. I played for literally 2 minutes before I got injured. 2 MINUTES!!!

Now I have a torn MCL and I have to go through 5 weeks of Physio Therapy just to be able to walk properly again. I’m also wearing a range of motion brace to keep my knee stable.

For the past week I have been sitting and laying down and more sitting and more laying. So this begs the question how do you lose weight while you are injured? Since I have a leg injury I can’t do my usual cardio workouts, running and jump training. So how am I suppose to burn calories? Weight training is very limited no leg workouts and other upper body exercises surprisingly depend heavily on your legs for stability Push ups, dips rows etc…

This has thrown my whole routine off and I need your advice.

What should I be doing exercise wise to keep up the weight loss or at least prevent any weight gain until I’m back to normal? How have you worked around your injuries in the past?

I don’t mean to come off as being a complainer, injuries happen I’m just frustrated and anxious to get moving again. Please leave your comments.

Thx
Steve

Ok I’ve been negelcting this site and my readers for the past month, as you can see from a total of 0 posts in April. So to make up for it I am giving you the chance to win 1 of 2 copies of Tommy Europe’s 10lb shred ebook and access for 1 year to his new membership site Tommyeurope.tv

Tommy Europe is the trainer and star of the Last 10 pounds bootcamp and bulging brides. Two great shows that help people get back into shape. He is a former CFL football player and certified personal trainer from Canada.

I’ve read the book myself and It’s really good. There are 30 pages of high quality exercises that you can do either at the gym or home. The book includes a 4 week workout plan that will help you drop the weight quickly.

It’s not all about the workouts Tommy also has the diet aspect covered which includes a 7 day meal plan designed by the Maria Thomas the women that creates all the meal plans for the last 10 pounds bootcamp contestants.

How To Win

Winning should be fairly easy. You can enter 2 ways:

1. Leave a comment for one entry (I will be contacting the winners by email).

2. Write a post about this contest, the last 10 pounds bootcamp, or Tommy Europe and link back to weightlossweapons.com for 5 entries.

This will be a short contest with the winners being chosen on May 11th using random.org

Good Luck!!

As I consider all the workout routines available, it is difficult to decide which is best for me. I am sure you have the same problem. So, I decided to compare two different programs - ChaLEAN Extreme vs. Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer. Both programs are created by Beachbody.

ChaLEAN Extreme uses circuit training techniques and shifts the workout’s focus from cardio to weight training - lifting heavy weights in 3 phases. Tony Horton’s program is a super stacking technique using resistance bands. Stacking is combining fat-burning cardio, total-body toning/sculpting, and ab workouts into the same movements.

The main difference is obvious from the name: Tony Horton 10 Minute Trainer. It consists of 4 workouts - total body, lower body, cardio, and yoga flex. Each lasts 10 minutes. Plus you get a bonus abs routine as a free gift. Chalene extreme comes with 15 workouts on 6 DVD’s, including 2 starter workouts to teach you form, 3 burn circuit workouts, 3 push circuit workouts, 3 lean circuit workouts, and 2 ab routines. Each workout is 30-45 minutes in length.

Both programs come with tools and Beachbody offers 24hr/7day a week support. ChaLEAN Extreme includes a guide book, body fat tester, and thigh toner band. Weights and additional resistance bands need to be purchase separately. Tony Horton’s program includes a resistance band kit, customized workout calendar, guidebook and Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Meals.

Each program offer a 30 day money back guarantee, plus free gifts you keep even if you return the program. The gifts with Tony Horton’s program are a bonus abs routine, On-the-Go Workout cards, and the 10-day lean jean plan. With ChaLEAN Extreme, the gifts are Fat-Burning Food Guide, Extreme Motivation Audio CD, “Healthy Eats”, and a Kitchen Makeover DVD.

Customer reviews and success stories revealed more differences. Customers liked Chalene’s personality and appreciated reminders to keep proper form and to work at your own pace. They loved her encouragement and felt she made working out fun. One customer completed the workouts despite his arthritis because of the tips provided to protect your knees and back. No particular comments were given on Tony Horton’s personality.

Fit people and out of shape people found both programs challenging and experience success when they consistently worked out. In ChaLEAN Extreme, people generally noticed a difference in 2-3 weeks as they lost weight and increased their strength. On Tony Horton’s program, customers reported significant weight loss and a decrease pant size in just over a month.

One customer owns over 300 workout programs and declared ChaLEAN the best program. Never boring was another reoccurring comment regarding ChaLEAN Extreme. People felt they could stick with the program.

Customers of the 10 Minute Trainer were pleasantly surprised to be sweating by the end of the workout. One customer commented they were done with the workout before they could talk themselves out of it. Even fit users felt the burn and were sore in the beginning. Several customers felt they pushed themselves too hard or hurt themselves trying to stretch the resistance bands as far as the girl in the video. They cautioned others to build up to that level.

ChaLEAN Extreme’s price is 3 payments of $39.95 plus $19.95 in shipping for a total of $139.80. Tony Horton’s program is 2 payments of $39.95 plus $9.95 shipping for a total of $89.85.

AND THE WINNER IS … well, that depends on your goals and personality. The success pictures for ChaLEAN Extreme show more muscles and definition, but the workouts are longer and you provide your own weights. In my opinion, this program is better for people serious about weight loss and fitness. For people ready to put in time and money to achieve more muscular results. Tony Horton’s program is ideal for people with limited time, those unwilling to invest money into a program, or those wishing to lose weight without caring about muscle definition.

No matter which workout routine you choose, the most important step is taking action. Both programs will get you results if you follow them. So, choose one and get started!

Written by Healthy New Age, the natural health blog and website.